Biden-Harris DoJ Reportedly Winding Down Trump Criminal Cases 1/2 or 3
TYLER DURDEN
WED, NOV 06, 2024 - 02:40 PM
Special Counsel Jack Smith, overseeing two federal cases against former President Donald Trump, has considered a possible pathway to end the cases, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to NBC News. This news from the MSM outlet comes hours after Trump won the US presidential election.
Here's more from NBC News:
The latest discussions stand in contrast with the pre-election legal posture of Special Counsel Jack Smith, who in recent weeks took significant steps in the election interference case against Trump without regard to the electoral calendar.
But the sources say DOJ officials have come to grips with the fact that no trial is possible any time soon in either the January 6th case or the classified documents matter—both of which are mired in legal issues that would likely prompt an appeal all the way to the Supreme Court, even if Trump had lost the election.
Now that Trump will become president again, DOJ officials see no room to pursue either criminal case against him—and no point in continuing to litigate them in the weeks before he takes office, the people said.
The outlet continued:
The sources said it will be up to Smith to decide exactly how to unwind the charges, and many questions remain unanswered. Could the prosecutions resume after Trump leaves office or would they be time-barred? What happens to the evidence? What about the two other defendants charged with helping Trump hide classified documents? Will Smith write a report, as special counsels usually do?
The sources say all those issues require study and research.
At the same time,Trump's legal team is weighing their own next steps for how to resolve the outstanding federal casesin the former president's favor now that he is the projected winner of the election. The ultimate goal is toget all of the federal and state cases wiped out completely— the strategic call is how best to accomplish that task, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
If the Trump side, for example, moved again in court to dismiss the charges in Washington for election interference, then the Justice Department could use its legal response to explain its position on not moving forward with that case.
As a reminder, Axios noted that there are four separate federal and state cases that involve Trump:
New York hush money case: Trump was convicted in May on all 34 felony counts in his New York criminal trial, for falsifying business records to cover up a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
Georgia election interference case: The sprawling racketeering case has been on hold since July, pending a legal battle over whether prosecutor Fani Willis should be removed from the case. Oral arguments are set for December 5th.
Federal January 6th case: Special counsel Jack Smith's criminal case over Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election is on hold while Judge Tanya Chutkan decides how much of the case can proceed in light of the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling.
Federal classified documents case: The federal case, which was filed in Florida, was dismissed in July after Judge Aileen Cannon ruled Smith had been unlawfully appointed. Smith appealed the dismissal.
The former president has stated that he intends to end the federal criminal cases once he returns to the White House.
Surprisingly, the Biden-Harris DoJ may move first, well ahead of January 20th.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-harris-doj-reportedly-winding-down-trump-criminal-cases